Career and Commitment (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Career and Commitment

[jdub]

I agree that your actions will show how committed you are. If you have a goal, the best way in my experience to achieve it is to write down the goal, when you plan to achieve it, and how you plan to get there.

I have found that often times I have great ideas and make goals, but then I don't write them down and I forget about them. By writing them down, even if its just a sticky note on my computer, I remember them and actively pursue them.

By writing down what you want to achieve and a plan to get there, you can see how committed you are by how strictly you stick to the plan and how motivated you are to achieve that goal

[mchuebner]

Good morning everyone. I have been reading Steve's articles for a month or so and I have been enjoying them. I have never blogged before, and I finally worked up my nerve to add to the conversation. In my professional life, I an Organizational Development Consultant focused on career planning, leadership development and process improvement

I agree with the comment about the need to have a goal. Steve Covey, author, talks about the need to have a "yes" burning inside of you. The "yes" is your goal/purpose. It makes it easier to say "no" to those things that really aren't important, like TV. I don't mean to bash TV but I agree with Steve Pavlina that it can be a time waster.

I would add that it is very important to have a plan to achieve your goal. It doesn't have to be overly detailed, but I have found that if I know my next steps, then I will move towards them.

I also try to pay attention to what resistance I might be feeling--overt/covert. People tend to think that their internal resistance is something to be pushed down or conquered. I think it's something that has to be brought out into the light. Kevin Eikenberry, author, lists 5 steps to dealing with resistance:
1. surface it;
2. honor it;
3. Explore it;
4. build a plan for overcoming it;
5. Map the solution--create the plan.

Then repeat this process.

This advice has been helpful for me, I hope it is helpful for you.

[Mr.Mustache]

I didn't like this article. It just tells me the obvious: you can't create a fulfilling career without a motivation that moves beyond what you are already doing.

I'm guessing that most reading the entry, like myself, are already motivated to figure out what kind of career they want. The concept of living purposefully has already been covered well in other entries. I would rather read about turning those aspirations into reality. The sort of process it takes physically to make the shift and the potential problems that could come up. At least in more detail.

Thats the basic gist of what I'm interested in regard to creating a great career.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

I'm guessing that most reading the entry, like myself, are already motivated to figure out what kind of career they want.

The point of the article is that if you believe the above statement, you're likely mistaken about your level of commitment.

Lack of knowledge is no obstacle for the truly committed, especially today. "I don't know what to do" is an excuse. Waiting for me to write the how-to part is an excuse as well. A committed person wouldn't wait for me or anyone else to write anything -- s/he would actively be seeking out the necessary info elsewhere and acting upon it, even in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty.

The to-do steps for any career are easy enough to discover. Go to any library or bookstore and look them up. You also have access to the entire Internet, the world's information at your fingertips. Whatever you want to create or build, odds are there's an abundance of how-to info available.

If you're waiting -- for anything -- you're delaying.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

The concept of living purposefully has already been covered well in other entries. I would rather read about turning those aspirations into reality. The sort of process it takes physically to make the shift and the potential problems that could come up.

That's so interesting! 'Cause I thought the article WAS about turning aspirations into reality, with very practical steps to do so.

set a simple goal to tackle the most obvious step ahead of you, and then cut out all nonessential activities until it’s done.

is the first example that comes to mind. Guess if you're in a different place than someone, you'll read a different article than they did! (now that's I've written that... duh. I've seen that again and again in these forums)

I just read a recommendation for a book called The War of Art - it goes through different types of resistance, and how to overcome them. I particularly liked this quote: "Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it."

[Mr.Mustache]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

The point of the article is that if you believe the above statement, you're likely mistaken about your level of commitment.

Lack of knowledge is no obstacle for the truly committed, especially today. "I don't know what to do" is an excuse. Waiting for me to write the how-to part is an excuse as well. A committed person wouldn't wait for me or anyone else to write anything -- s/he would actively be seeking out the necessary info elsewhere and acting upon it, even in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty.

How do know your readers aren't already seeking out info elsewhere and acting on it? I thought this was personal development for smart people? I'm assuming that people who are actually interested in reading any info on the subject are more committed to their career than to tv watching. It isn't difficult to realize that if you keep the same habits you shouldn't expect any change.

"I don't know what to do" I feel is an excuse if you are taking the time to discover what it is you want to do. The point is I already know albeit vaguely what I want to do, probably like many others on the forum. I'm also competent enough to know how to gain more clarity on the subject given any continued effort. I'm not interested with that anymore. I've read plenty of info and done the work on finding your purpose, core value, strengths etc. including reading this blog which was very helpful.

Now I'm interested in the action part. I agree that it is always an excuse to sit on your hands even in the face of uncertainty but that doesn't mean I don't value info or any personal experience on the subject.

So why am I sitting here typing this instead of at the library? Its not because I'm uncommitted, its because I don't consider actively pursuing a career at this moment to be priority one. Some might see that as a lack of commitment but 'lack' is relative to your values.

"The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it". Although, that might explain my choice in priorities lol.

[Dive Bomb]

Patience, there are still more blog posts to come in this series. I'm sure he's going to touch up on action in one of them. The first two have been good, possibly great for those who are new to the writings of Steve. They may not be as filling to us veterans of Steve's blog, but I have a feeling that future blog posts in this series will reveal some new insights to us.

[Brigid]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

How do know your readers aren't already seeking out info elsewhere and acting on it? I thought this was personal development for smart people? I'm assuming that people who are actually interested in reading any info on the subject are more committed to their career than to tv watching. It isn't difficult to realize that if you keep the same habits you shouldn't expect any change.

"I don't know what to do" I feel is an excuse if you are taking the time to discover what it is you want to do. The point is I already know albeit vaguely what I want to do, probably like many others on the forum. I'm also competent enough to know how to gain more clarity on the subject given any continued effort. I'm not interested with that anymore. I've read plenty of info and done the work on finding your purpose, core value, strengths etc. including reading this blog which was very helpful.

Now I'm interested in the action part. I agree that it is always an excuse to sit on your hands even in the face of uncertainty but that doesn't mean I don't value info or any personal experience on the subject.

So why am I sitting here typing this instead of at the library? Its not because I'm uncommitted, its because I don't consider actively pursuing a career at this moment to be priority one. Some might see that as a lack of commitment but 'lack' is relative to your values.

"The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it". Although, that might explain my choice in priorities lol.

I think there is truth to the "resistance" factor when called to action for the souls evolution. Moses backed out for 40 years!!!! And then he rose to the challenge.

After I read Steves post I was drawn immediatlely to the 'are you a lightworker or a darkworker' post down below. Well I think it lines up fairly well as a combination of both thoughts on career and commitment and on the resistance. Have a read. See what you think.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...-a-darkworker/

[slinky]

I'm not committed to my career. I should spend my time improving and learning about subjects that are relevant to my career, but I spend more time watching TV, surfing the Internet, or going to parties and dancing. (Dancing is one my main hobbies.) The reason is that I simply enjoy those activities more.